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Animal Attraction
|Season = 5 |Antagonist = Darkon |Setting = Spamona |In-Universe Date = Year 4 |Production # = V0905 |Filming Dates = 25 May to 2 June 1999 |Original Air-Date = |Written By = Chris Manheim |Story By = |Teleplay By = |Directed By = Rick Jacobson |Order in Series = 94 of 134 |Order in Season = 4 of 22 |Order in Franchise= 259 of 304 |Prev Episode in Series = "Succession" |Next Episode in Series = "Them Bones, Them Bones" |Prev Episode in Franchise = "Darkness Visible" |Next Episode in Franchise = "Hercules, Tramps and Thieves" |title cap image = }} Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer, as well as Amarice travel to the town of Spamona, where Xena is shocked to learn that she is pregnant. Meanwhile, the gang are reunited with Arman, who begins to blossom a romance with Amarice. Xena is also reunited with an old friend, Talia, of whom she used to ride with. Her husband is a ruthless warlord, who is threatening to ransack the town. Summary ,Amarice and Joxer watch Xena save a wild horse.]] Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer and Amarice are traveling down a wooded path. Gabrielle tries to point out to Xena the covert looks Joxer keeps giving her, but Xena, who is riding Argo, is fast asleep. Concerned, Gabrielle wakes her up and asks why she's been so tired lately. Suddenly, the group comes across a horse caught in a trap and they free the animal. Even though the horse is wild, Gabrielle wants to take it to the nearby town of Spamona to receive proper medical attention. Upon their arrival, they are greeted by Talia, the town sheriff who is an old friend of Xena's. Talia and Xena catch up on the past while Xena satisfies her craving for raw fish and rashberry jam. The town deputy then informs Talia that the warlord Darcon is on his way to Spamona. Meanwhile, Gabrielle tries to comfort the horse, but Joxer interrupts and upsets the horse. Amarice goes to one of the town's spas and meets Arman. It's obvious from the start that the two are attracted to each other and Amarice isn't quite sure how to process these emotions. But Amarice's affections fade away after she falls into a pile of towels and Arman laughs at her. Embarrassed, Amarice runs out of the spa. Later, when Xena goes to see a healer because she just isn't feeling like herself, she is completely shocked to learn that she is pregnant, claiming that it's been a long time since she's had any kind of a love life at all. She munches on a huge pickle and goes to see Talia. Talia tells Xena that Darcon, who is about to arrive, is actually her husband but she doesn't love him anymore. In fact, she's afraid of him. Xena tells her not to run away and insists on helping her fight the evil warlord. But Talia tells Xena she won't let her fight her battles, especially pregnant. Xena tries to protest, but Talia sees right through her. Meanwhile, Arman tries to make amends with Amarice, which leads to another fight. But the two can't escape their attraction for one another and they lock in a passionate kiss. Joxer interrupts them and the couple starts to bicker again. Everyone rushes off to find Xena, who is in the barn watching Gabrielle break the horse. Gabrielle is about to make contact with the horse when Joxer, Amarice and Arman burst in, all clamoring for Xena's attention simultaneously. Her nerves frazzled, Xena blurts out that she's pregnant. Her friends rush to congratulate her, but Gabrielle becomes concerned when Xena says she doesn't know who the father is. Joxer is so excited that he almost forgets to tell Xena that Darcon will be in town by sundown and that Talia has disappeared. Everyone helps to secure the town from Darcon. The warlord and his gang ride into Spamona and Xena is about to fight him, but Talia arrives and insists on fighting her own battle. Gabrielle rushes over to the barn when one of Darcon's men tries to torch it. But right on cue, the horse bursts through the stable and tramples the thug. Talia defeats Darcon and thanks Xena for her help. Xena and Gabrielle leave town with their horses in tow, thinking of the future. Disclaimer Although The Rabbit Died, no other animals were harmed during the production of this motion picture. Background Information Behind the Scenes *R.J. Stewart's final episode as showrunner until "Antony & Cleopatra". Stewart left to develop and showrun Cleopatra 2525 for executive producer Rob Tapert. *This episode is also known as Wild Horses. *Alison Bruce who plays Talia in this episode, appeared all the way back in the season one episode, "Hooves and Harlots" as Melosa. She will also later appear in the season six episode, "Legacy" as Kahina. *David Te Rare who plays Darkon in this episode has appeared as many miscellaneous characters throughout the show, most notably Callisto's right hand man Theodorus in the episodes "Callisto", "Return of Callisto" and "Intimate Stranger". *Jennifer Sky has said that this was her favorite episode that she did on because it was a comedy. She particularly enjoyed working with Ted Raimi, who she found hilarious. She also felt that she learned a lot as an actress during this one. *The writers wanted to name Gabrielle's new horse "Amber" but Renee didn't think that was appropriate for him. Then again, his real name was "Flash" and according to her that name was inappropriate too, since he was slow! In the end they never gave him a name for the show. *There are five storylines in this episode: Talia's fight with the outlaws, Gabrielle's new horse, Amarice and Arman's budding romance, Xena's pregnancy, as well as Joxer's love for Gabrielle. Writer Chris Manheim said this in the newsletter: "Every character has their own thread and somehow they have to weave together to make a tapestry that's complete at the end. The only lost thread was the Joxer story. I'll always be sorry we had to cut for time scenes that fleshed out his relationship with Gabrielle." http://jacksonupperco.com/ many thanks for personally researched, and transcribed Key Events *This episode marks the final appearance of Arman. *Xena discovers that she is pregnant in this episode. As she points out, this should be impossible. The miraculous truth will not be revealed until "Seeds of Faith". *This episode marks the first appearance of Xena and Gabrielle's coats, which they will wear over the top of their costumes for the majority of the fifth season. **Although this episode vaguely implies that they need them for the alpine climate they find themselves in, the fact that they (and for that matter, Hercules and Iolaus) are rarely seen to wear coats is actually somewhat absurd. Although mild by the standards of Northern Europe, North America, or East Asia, Greece still experiences winter, with temperatures of about 7°C being common. **The series was actually filmed during New Zealand's winter. Production stills reveal that many of the show's stars were bundled up in heavy winter coats between takes, and Hudson Leick frequently commented on the "rather small" costumes that she and Lawless had to wear. Lucy and Renee were probably quite relieved to see the coats! Trivia *'Chakram Count': 1 #To take out an archer. *There are several aspects of this episode that reference the traditional spaghetti-western films, most notably the showdown between Talia and Darkon and Xena hovering her hand over her Chakram. Links and References Guest Stars *Ted Raimi as Joxer *Jennifer Sky as Amarice *Alison Bruce as Talia *David Te Rare as Darkon *Mfundo Morrison as Arman *Ric Chan as the Healer *John Smith as the Stablehand *John Lawler as the Barkeeper References People *Xena *Gabrielle *Joxer *Darkon *Talia *Arman *Amarice *Hercules (Mentioned) Deities Places *Greece *Spamona Other *Argo Season Navigation de:Pferdegeflüster Category:XWP Season 5 episodes Category:Parody Episodes Category:Episodes Featuring Joxer